Scouting Profile: Kyle Kennard - EDGE - South Carolina
Sales Pitch: Productive EDGE rusher who plays with aggression and toughness. Average traits limit his ceiling but should be able to contribute as a rotation player right away.
*Gold Numbers Indicate NCAA Top-25 for 2024*
*Red Numbers Indicate NCAA Bottom-25 for 2024*
Scouting Report
Kyle Kennard is a former 3-Star recruit from the state of Georgia. He spent his first four seasons at Georgia Tech before transferring to South Carolina in 2024. Kennard logged 39 pressures and 10 sacks on his way to winning the Bronko Nagurski Award for the best defender in the country, along with All-American and All-Conference honors.
At 6’ 5”, 254 lbs, Kennard is a long lanky EDGE rusher. He displays solid athletic ability with his first step being his greatest strength. He was extremely productive in 2024 in no small part to the fire he plays with. He brings an infectious energy to a defense with his aggression and toughness. Kennard shows the ability to hold his ground on the edge in run defense. He loves to bring the fight to pulling guards and tight ends to squeeze the rushing lanes. His first step burst allows him to create disruption when asked to win up the field vertically. He plays with excellent effort in pursuit with the straight-line speed to make tackles from the backside. As a rusher Kennard primarily wins with speed. He leverages his burst to threaten lineman up the field and has the change of direction skills to cross face as a counter. He doesn’t have the deepest of pass rush bags, but shows a competent long arm and club-rip move. Kennards massive tackling radius and good closing speed allowed him to efficiently convert pressures to sacks in college. He is able to corral mobile QB’s before they can slip away and escape.
Kennard is solid athlete but lacks the twitch or bend the top players at the position display. He is also on the lighter side and could stand to add more mass. Kennard’s aggressive play style is a double edged sword, often bordering on undisciplined. His 5 penalties was one of the higher marks in the country in 2024, and he frequently runs himself out of plays as a run defender. Kennard is limited as a run defender, he lacks the strength to hold up versus double teams and down blocks at the point of attack, especially when reduced inside. He is slow to process run plays and lacks the block shed ability to play in 2-Gap schemes. As a rusher Kennard fails to display an ability to win with power despite his impressive length. His hands are slow to fire and lacks the strength to disengage when lineman get hands on. He also has a stiff frame with limited flexibility. Lineman are able to ride Kennard wide up the field if he doesn’t win cleanly due to his lack of bend. His overall upside as a run defender and pass rusher is lower than other Top-100 picks due to his physical limitations.
Kennard profiles as a 5T in an even front, single gap scheme. His experience and competitive toughness give him instant rotational impact at the next level, but he lacks the physical tools to be much more than a solid starter. Kennard profiles as a mid Day-2 pick for his high floor despite his limited ceiling.